Location acquiring system and location information acquiring method

• US 8,396,487 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2009
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Honda, Yasuyuki, Kojo, Yu, Wakui, Michiko, Endoh, Eisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM LU, NGAN T
• Application Number:
  US13/141,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20110256885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

There are provided a location acquiring system that allows acquiring of location information that keeps track of the movement of a mobile communication terminal to be searched for, with the transmission and reception of signals for acquiring the location information being suppressed, and a location information acquiring method. A session establishment unit 124 of an application unit 12 in a management server 10 establishes a session between a location acquiring request terminal 20 and a to-be-searched terminal 30 for continuously transmitting the location information of the to-be-searched terminal 30 to the location acquiring request terminal 20, when an information transmission and reception unit 11 receives location information acquiring request information for making a request of acquiring location information of the to-be-searched terminal 30 from the location acquiring request terminal 20.

Claims

1. A location acquiring system for controlling acquiring of location information of a searched mobile communication terminal to be searched for, comprising:

a location acquiring request terminal,

an information transmission and reception unit for controlling transmission and reception of information via a communication network; and

a location information transmission session establishment unit for establishing a session between the location acquiring request terminal and the searched mobile communication terminal for continuously transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to the location acquiring request terminal, when the information transmission and reception unit receives location information acquiring request information for making a request of acquiring the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal from the location acquiring request terminal,

wherein the location acquiring request terminal regularly receives the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal via the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit without transmitting the location information acquiring request information for making the request of acquiring the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal.

2. The location acquiring system according to claim 1, wherein the searched mobile communication terminal transmits the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to the location acquiring request terminal via the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit, whenever an amount of change in the location information exceeds a threshold value.

3. The location acquiring system according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising at least one of:

a session switch unit for switching the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit for transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to a session for transmitting and receiving U-PLANE data; and

an application addition/switch unit for allowing the U-PLANE data to be transmitted and received by switching to or adding an application on an upper layer, while maintaining the session on a lower layer established by the location information transmission session establishment unit.

7. The location acquiring system according to claim 1 or claim 2,

wherein the location information transmission session establishment unit is capable of establishing a session for transmitting and receiving U-PLANE data from the searched mobile communication terminal and the location acquiring request terminal,

the location acquiring system further comprising at least one of:

a session switch unit for switching the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit for transmitting the U-PLANE data to a session for transmitting the location information from the searched mobile communication terminal; and

an application addition/switch unit for allowing the location information to be transmitted by switching to or adding an application on an upper layer while, maintaining the session on a lower layer established by the location information transmission session establishment unit.

8. The location acquiring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a session switch unit for switching the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit for transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to a session for transmitting and receiving U-PLANE data; and

an application addition/switch unit for allowing the U-PLANE data to be transmitted and received by switching to or adding an application on the session established by the session establishment unit,

wherein when the application addition/switch unit receives an application switching signal for switching the application on the session established from the location acquiring request terminal to another application after the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal is transmitted to the location acquiring request terminal via the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit, the application addition/switch unit switches the session established for transmitting the location information to another session to be used for the another session.

4. A location acquiring system for controlling acquiring of location information, of a searched mobile communication terminal to be searched for, to be provided for a location acquiring request terminal, comprising:

an information transmission and reception unit for receiving an e-mail from the location acquiring request terminal to the searched mobile communication terminal;

a location information notification determination unit for analyzing a content of the e-mail received by the information transmission and reception unit, and for determining whether or not the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal needs to be notified to the location acquiring request terminal; and

a location information transmission session establishment unit for establishing a session between the location acquiring request terminal and the searched mobile communication terminal for continuously transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to the location acquiring request terminal, when the location information notification determination unit analyzes the content of the e-mail received by the information transmission and reception unit and determines that the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal needs to be notified to the location acquiring request terminal,

wherein the location acquiring request terminal regularly receives the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal via the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit without transmitting location information acquiring request information for making the request of acquiring the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal.

5. The location acquiring system according to claim 4, further comprising a location information notification unit for transmitting to the location acquiring request terminal the e-mail attached with map data for displaying a map of an area indicated by the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal when the location information notification determination unit determines that the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal needs to be notified to the location acquiring request terminal.

9. The location acquiring system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a session switch unit for switching the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit for transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to a session for transmitting and receiving U-PLANE data; and

an application addition/switch unit for allowing the U-PLANE data to be transmitted and received by switching to or adding an application on the session established by the session establishment unit,

wherein when the application addition/switch unit receives an application switching signal for switching the application on the session established from the location acquiring request terminal to another application after the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal is transmitted to the location acquiring request terminal via the session established by the location information transmission session establishment unit, the application addition/switch unit switches the session established for transmitting the location information to another session to be used for the another session.

10. The location acquiring system according to claim 4, further comprising a location information notification unit for transmitting to the location acquiring request terminal the e-mail attached with map data for displaying a map of an area indicated by the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal with a latitude, a longitude, and an address indicated by the location information being included in a body of the e-mail, when the location information notification determination unit determines that the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal needs to be notified to the location acquiring request terminal,

wherein the location acquiring request terminal confirms the location information of the searched mobile terminal by opening the e-mail.

6. A location acquiring method performed by a location acquiring system for controlling acquiring of location information, of a searched mobile communication terminal to be searched for, to be provided for a location acquiring request terminal, the location acquiring method comprising:

receiving location information acquiring request information for making a request of acquiring the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal, from the location acquiring request terminal; and

establishing a location information transmission session between the location acquiring request terminal and the searched mobile communication terminal for continuously transmitting the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal to the location acquiring request terminal, in an event of receiving the location information acquiring request information in the receiving,

wherein the location acquiring request terminal regularly receives the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal via the session established in the establishing without transmitting the location information acquiring request information for making the request of acquiring the location information of the searched mobile communication terminal.